Generating Responses Using Email Marketing
Andy this month looks at how to write effective emails and outlines thesignificant differences between the techniques required from that of direct mail. Oh dear. Listen to this…
According to recent research I saw the other day, accredited to some people called IDC, over 36 billion persontoperson emails will be sent daily by 2005.
And…
Draft Worldwide’s US Office reckons that in 2004 we will receive an average of 50 junk emails a day.
I think they’re wrong. I think it will be closer to 100… I get over 50 NOW…!
99.9% of them are garbage. Most are irrelevant, an increasing amount of them try subterfuge, but virtually all are badly written…
…and we thought direct mail copywriting was bad…!
So, with the certain fatigue that the above predictions will generate, getting
attention and generating responses using email marketing is undoubtedly going to get harder…
Email is a wonderful new arrow in the marketer’s quiver. But, as with all contemporary communication channels, it needs careful thought.
What’s more, it will always benefit from the personal touch of someone who knows what they are doing.
Contrary to the beliefs of some out there, it is not about mass. It is, as one of my favourite US colleagues would say…about class.
And you won’t find much of that in your inbox these days…
Some people believe that email can be an inexpensive alternative compared to direct mail. I don’t believe that, judging by what I see…
For every email that reassures, persuades and influences me to respond, I must see over 100, that in my eyes, have seriously damaged their brand by sending out such rubbish.
These days, with competition at an all time high in most business sectors, this can be very costly indeed. You rarely get a second chance…
It’s only the same with direct mail, I hear you say. Not so, actually. Just because I don’t respond to a mailer, doesn’t mean I haven’t been impressed by the quality of the approach and the brand message.
I will have been ‘softened up’ for the next time…
So, if you are looking to run an effective email campaign in the near future, here are a few tips that might help. These apply to both text and html emails.
A screen relationship is much more intimate than a letterbox. We all feel very differently about our email boxes than our letterboxes.
It’s a more personal space. So, we have to tread a little more carefully, whilst always recognising that our message has to sell.
A lot of the proven techniques for writing effective direct mail copy apply to emails as well. Benefits not features, AIDA sequence, clarity, verisimilitude etc…
As with direct mail, it’s all about the recipient not the writer and benefit is king. You should use the words "you," "your" and "yours" as often as you can.
But, there are significant differences too…
Long copy still outpulls short copy in head to head direct mail tests, but with emails it is necessary to keep it short. Especially with your first message.
Ideally use two or three short paragraphs. Indented is working best at the moment. The object should be to influence the recipient to request further information via a hyperlink, visit to a website or a followup email message.
When they respond, you can then use that ‘warmth’ you have generated to sell yourself just a little bit more…
…softly softly catchee monkey, remember?
Don’t use those proven direct mail words like Free, Win, Guaranteed, Introducing, Cheap, Save, New, ££££’s and others like them. Avoid exclamation marks like the plague. And ALL CAPS in the ‘Subject’ line will almost certainly result in your message being deleted instantly.
In his superb book on email marketing, Aussie mate Malcolm Auld wrote:
“The key to getting your email opened can be described in one word ‘trust’. Without trust your recipient won’t open your email. They’ll trust you if they know who you are and understand why you are contacting them.
If what you type in the two fields of the heading, ‘From’ and ‘Subject’, don’t engender trust, you’ll get deleted as quick as blinking”
He’s so right. I don’t know anyone these days that opens an email attachment if they don’t know or trust the sender. It is so dangerous and can have a huge amount of very unpleasant implications.
Writing a ‘Subject’ line is regarded by some to be pretty much the same as writing headlines for direct mail letters, envelopes, or off the page ads.
I personally think it is much harder than writing headlines for direct mail. Mainly because at the moment of message delivery – that vital 28 seconds – the recipient evaluates your promotional message purely by the ‘subject’ line and the ‘from’ box.
Whilst, of course, that same recipient is looking at a screen with, on average, over 20 ‘one line’ messages. Most of which are total rubbish…
At least with direct mail, the recipient can see, touch and be involved with the
elements of the dm pack. The PS can be viewed, the pack contents speedily evaluated and the writer identified.
With email messages you don’t enjoy that level of attention. So, in my view, it’s much harder. The subject line HAS to grab.
There MUST be relevance in there. And it’s VITAL that it contains a benefit. And you only have a maximum of 35 characters to play with…!
As I mentioned in my previous Copycat article on headlines;
“On average, five times as many people will read the headline of your ad and letter, than will read the body copy. Therefore it is absolutely essential that the winning idea, the proposition, must be in the headline, not in the copy. If it's not, there will be no selling proposition to 80% of your audience.”
It has been proven through testing that if you can incorporate the recipient’s name in the ‘Subject’ line, response will go up. The reason is simple people enjoy reading their own name – and they’ll spot their name before they see the rest of the copy. Try to keep the subject line under 35 characters, or your headline may not be displayed in full. Keep your line length to 60 characters tops otherwise your copy will suffer from ‘word wrap’, resulting in a messy layout, which most won’t bother with.
Serif typefaces are best. They enjoy far higher screen comprehension than sans serif. Remember, every little bit helps….
There’s a very irritating trend at the moment of people who trick you into opening their email. I dislike them with a passion, don’t you? Who are these bozos anyway? Don’t they realise that using a scam to get you to open their email is going to result in you hating them and never doing business with them again? What’s more, of course, it sends out a strong message that these people are dishonest and not to be trusted.
Here are a few selected emails I received recently that I would like to share with you: CustomerService50250
Resorting to trickery NEVER works. The subject line demands I open this.
When I do, I find it refers to a Mortgage offer. Unfortunately, this kind of nonsense is on the increase.
I hate them and will never do business with them now or in the future – whoever they are, CustomerService50250…
Good Signs
A very poor email. Subject line offers no benefit. In fact, it offers nothing at all.
Body copy is badly written and features led (well, it is a printer after all, what do you expect?)
And, on top of all that, the text is in caps, which shouts at me. No thanks…goodbye…
Yes, I’m responsible. But these jokers obviously aren’t.
Spelling mistakes in the subject line are instant death. And deserve to be. Even if it had been spelt correctly, it’s still very poor.
The question in the subject line is lazy and totally uninteresting and very, very zappable, which is what I suspect most recipients did with it…
APS Advertising
Written by the cleaner on a quiet night.
The copy is 100% about them. Nothing about what they can do for me.
I am not in the slightest bit interested about their expansion or their brand new printer.
I thought I WAS big in Dubai anyway…! Lets leave the final word with the master…
My old chum Drayton Bird recently stated that, in his opinion, the main barriers to development of the email marketing industry will be no different than with the introduction of most new technology:
“You’ll see lots of incompetence as people will be in too much of a hurry to plan and execute properly; technojitters caused by unreliable technology; a failure to understand that the rules of direct marketing will apply to this as to everything else in marketing; and a failure to co ordinate, measure or test enough”.
More relevant to this article, the great man also foresees problems arising from lack of skills and commonsense:
“… a shortage of people who can write”
In the case of writing for email, in my view this becomes even more critical.
Because, you are looking for a knowledgeable writer who can write effectively, with strict discipline, within almost impossible technical restrictions.
Not easy. Not easy at all. There are not may out there that will be able to do it. But, the best of luck in your search…and…
Keep the faith…
See you next month.
If anyone would like complete copies of any letters reviewed here, please contact Andy direct at[email protected] or[email protected]
About the Author
Andy Owen is Managing Director of Andy Owen & Associates, a leading International Strategic Marketing Consultancy specialising in all aspects of contemporary direct marketing. The company has offices in UK, Middle East & North Africa, with Associate Offices in Europe & The USA.
The company's corporate website is www.andyowen.co.uk The specialist copy division has its own site at www.copywritingthatsells.com
As well as his International speaking engagements, Andy runs inhouse copywriting and direct marketing sessions and workshops for companies and organisations all over the world. If you feel your company could benefit from one of these, please contact Andy for details.
If you would like further information on any aspect of copywriting for direct marketing, please contact Andy direct at [email protected] or [email protected]
Don’t forget to check out Andy’s superb new DVD on Copywriting called “How To Write
Copy That Really Sells.” To find out more and see excerpts from the DVD, visit
